"NO GUTS, NO GLORY"

Rene Phillips Qualls

"That took a lot of guts!"  "Son, you gotta have guts."  General George Patton was called "Old Blood and Guts."  People are very impressed with "guts."  Having "guts."  We instill the concept of "guts" into our children.  Medals are bestowed on soldiers, firefighters, police officers and citizens when they perform an act of courage.  When they do something that took "guts," often at the risk of their own lives.

I wonder then, given the intense desire that we have for "guts," where are mine?  Why am I such a "gutless wonder" when confronted by danger in my spiritual life?  Why do I crumble before temptation, before a test, before worry?  Why don't I stand up to the devil?  Why do I insist upon walking in my own shoes rather than follow in the footsteps, so easily tracked, of my Savior?

My Savior, Jesus Christ.  So courageous!  So brave!  Do we recognize, within this meek and gentle Soul, the Warrior of God He truly was?  Can't we see what "guts" it took for Him to live the way He did, while here on Earth?  To stand up to Satan.  To abandon any thought, feeling, or desire He felt about having a wife and children of His own.  (He was a normal MAN!)  He shouted for God!  He shoved and pushed and chased the money changers from the temple courtyard!  Boldly, and with "guts," Christ spoke against the hypocritical status quo, preaching the Truth for His Father.

Jesus bravely sacrificed His human life, having a wife, children and career, and walked that street, bearing the cross, to fulfill, with "guts," the Will of His Father.

To what end?  When everything was said and done, what did having "guts" accomplish for Christ, personally?  We accept the fact that living the way He did, He saved us.  But, what about Him?  Jesus, the Nazarene, received the highest honor there is.

He was Glorified by His Father!  He achieved Glory!  But, it took "guts" for Him to succeed.

Jesus Christ lived an example of life for me to follow.  I must be a warrior for the Lord.  I must stand up to Satan.  I must boldly hold up the Law and use the Holy Spirit, as Christ did, when He was a man.  To stand up for the values of God.  To hold tight to Him, even if it means losing the company of a loved one.  And, if it is necessary to maintain my relationship with the Lord, to have the "guts" to be alone.  Christ lived the way He did, for ME.  Do I have the "guts" to live my life for HIM?

My Savior, Jesus Christ, is going to return in all His Glory.  Will I be there?  Will I be glorified?  The answer is simple.  "No Guts, No Glory."

Copyright © 2000  René Phillips Qualls  (Used by permission.)